Central Line (Sweden)

Central Line
Overview
Type	Railway
System	Swedish railway network
Termini	Sundsvall Central Station Storlien Station
Operation
Opened	1878
Owner	Swedish Transport Administration
Operator(s)	Norwegian State Railways SJ Veolia Transport
Character	Passenger and freight
Rolling stock	X2 Regina NSB Class 92
Technical
Line length	358 km (222 mi)
No. of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC

[v · Legend Meråker Line to Trondheim 0 Storlien 13 Enafors 24 Ånn 48 Duved 56 Åre 70 Undersåker 83 Järpen 141 Krokom 161 Östersund V 162 Östersund C 177 Brunflo 195 Pilgrimstad 209 Gällö 222 Stavre Stambanan genom övre Norrland 233 Bräcke Norra Stambanan 263 Ånge Norra Stambanan 277 Erikslund 286 Ljungaverk 292 Fränsta 301 Torpshammar 304 Bodaberg 317 Stöde Ådalsbanan 357 Sundsvall V 358 Sundsvall C Ostkustbanan to Gävle

The Central Line (Swedish: Mittbanan) is a 358-kilometre (222 mi) long railway line between Sundsvall and Storlien in Sweden. It continues as the 106-kilometre (66 mi) long Meråker Line through Norway to Hell Station and onwards to Trondheim. The railway shares line with Inland Line between Brunflo and Östersund while the line between Ånge and Bräcke is double track. The entire line is electrified at 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC, but the Norwegian section is not. This requires all trains to Norway to be diesel trains.

SJ AB operates night trains with sleeping cars from Storlien or Duved to either Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö.^[1] Mittnabotåget between Sundsvall and Trondheim is operated by Veolia Transport with Class 92 diesel multiple units between Östersund and Trondheim, and Regina trains between Sundsvall and Östersund. Veolia Transport also operates Utmanartåget with a biweekly connection between Storlien and Malmö via Stockholm.^[1]

History

The first part of the line was the Sundsvall–Torpshammars Railway, a private, narrow gauge and 60-kilometre (37 mi) long line opened fully in 1878, and its first part in 1872. From 1875 the Swedish State Railways were building Norrland Crossline, which opened 1879 between Torpshammar and Östersund. Before 1881 it had no connection to the rest of Sweden (only steamboat from Sundsvall), until the railway Stockholm-Ånge was finished. At the same time the governments were building a railway east from Trondheim, with the Government of Sweden building the Swedish part, finished 1882. The Government of Norway (Norway was in a union with Sweden at the time) built the Norwegian section, Meråker Line, which was opened in 1886. In 1885 the Sundsvall-Torpshammer Railway was bought by the state and rebuilt to standard gauge the following year. The railway was then known as the Norrland Crossline Norrländska Tvärbanan) until it got the present name in the early 1990s.

External links

• Trafikverket page on Mittbanan (Swedish)
• Järnväg.net page on Mittbanan (Swedish)

See also

• Western Central Line (Swedish:Västra Centralbanan) was the railway Falköping–Ulricehamn–Landeryd in Sweden. It is now removed.
• Eastern Central Line (Swedish:Östra Centralbanan) was the name of the railway Linköping–Hultsfred in Sweden. It is now a part of Stångådalsbanan.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Tidtabell" (in Swedish). resplus.se. 2010-12-12. http://tidtabell.resplus.se/tidtabell/20_tag20.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-09.